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Liverpool’s Premier League defence began with a win over Bournemouth.

Hugo Ekitike put the hosts ahead in the 37th minute by wrongfooting Dorde Petrovic after Marcos Senesi’s clearance had broken kindly for him.

The Reds doubled their advantage early in the second half as Cody Gakpo cut a low finish just inside the penalty area from Ekitike’s rolled pass.

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But the visitors halved their deficit in the 64th minute when Antoine Semenyo was able to edge ahead of Virgil van Dijk to slot comfortably past Alisson.

Semenyo drew the Cherries level after staging a one-man counter attack before firing beyond Alisson for a second time in the closing stages.

However Arne Slot’s side retook their lead two minutes from time when substitute Federico Chiesa volleyed his first league goal in front of The Kop.

Deep in added time, Mohamed Salah put the game beyond reach with a sublime low drive to ensure a winning start for the reigning champions.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Suggestions of Liverpool’s demise may be somewhat exaggerated.

All the talk of a summer of churn at Anfield appears to have lit a fire in the Premier League champions as their defence began with a narrow victory.

First-night nerves did not appear to faze Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong after their dry run against Athletic Bilbao.

Ekitike, in particular, was a livewire who evoked memories of Fernando Torres’ start with bleach blonde hair and a long-sleeved Adidas shirt .

Much like the Spaniard’s 2007 opener against Chelsea, he dispatched a cool finish at the Anfield Road End past Stamford Bridge alum Dorde Petrovic.

The France international-in-waiting added an assist to his opening haul by teeing up Cody Gakpo’s well-taken finish early into Friday’s second half.

But after being pegged back by Antoine Semenyo’s brace, Arne Slot’s side had to dig deep to ensure their title defence began on a strong footing.

Resilience was not in short supply for the Reds last term and they proved that there is still plenty of it left in the tank to go again in the current campaign.

Anfield’s first competitive outing since Diogo Jota’s untimely passing was always destined to be a highly emotional affair – how could it not be?

Barely six weeks ago, he had been preparing to reunite with his Liverpool teammates in anticipation of adding to their record-equalling 20th title.

Yet that number now carries added poignancy after Jota and his brother Andre Silva were both cruelly struck down in their footballing prime.

The Portugal international’s family summoned the strength to return to Anfield as tributes were paid to him before, during and after this opening encounter.

Mosaics for Jota and Silva were unfurled by The Kop and Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand during an impeccably-observed minute’s silence ahead of kick-off.

Chants for the ‘lad from Portugal’ regularly rang out while Ekitike’s goal celebration contained a ’20’ hand gesture in honour of his late predecessor.

Salah, too, followed up his stoppage-time strike by recreating the Baby Shark which Jota memorably produced after scoring in the 2021 Merseyside derby.

Touchingly, the mercurial Egyptian stood in tearful solitude before The Kop at full-time while they continued to sing in memory of his fallen attacking cohort.

Jota relished, and often delivered, moments of late drama such as this.

His absence from the first of many in months and years to come truly hit home

An unprecedented summer of spending had seen Liverpool focusing on the front end of the pitch but attention has shifted downfield and for good reason.

Slot’s assertion that his charges do not need to be more streetwise in efforts to retain their title were dealt a reality check by the Cherries’ latest visit.

The visitors routinely exposed all aspects of their defence, particularly in the second half, with Giovanni Leoni’s recent arrival putting it into sharp focus.

Ibrahima Konate’s pre-season struggles have extended into the new term while Virgil van Dijjk is showing signs of ring rust after a truncated schedule.

The often imperious captain was sidelined by a virus prior to the Community Shield and will clearly require an adjustment period in getting up to speed.

Time, however, is something which Liverpool do not have in abundance with back-to-back clashes against Newcastle and Arsenal in the coming fortnight.

Unless they can iron out the backline kinks, expect more fraught moments like the ones which allowed Semenyo to inflict after the half-time interval.


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